New Library Project Updates

Plans for the New Building

Plans to build a new library are moving forward! In August, the plans for the new library (PDF) were approved by both the Village Board and Library Board at a Joint meeting. The project is currently out to bid.

The new library will include great spaces for all ages to enjoy! It will feature a storytime room, a community meeting room, study rooms, a quiet reading room, and more seating for all ages. A geothermal system and solar panels are also included in the project.

Interior design is still in progress, but you can take a peek at preliminary interior images (PDF). Furniture and shelving will be selected later, but is shown as a placeholder to show how spaces will be used. 

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Contact Jennifer Way, Library Director at (608) 835-2322 with any questions or feedback.

September 2022 - Plans Approved

Plans to build a new library are moving forward! In August, the plans for the new library (PDF) were approved by both the Village Board and Library Board at a Joint meeting. The project is expected to go out to bid later this month. 

The new library will include great spaces for all ages to enjoy! It will feature a storytime room, a community meeting room, study rooms, a quiet reading room, and more seating for all ages. A geothermal system and solar panels are also included in the project. Interior design is still in progress, but you can take a peek at preliminary interior images (PDF). Furniture and shelving will be selected later, but is shown as a placeholder to show how spaces will be used. 

Read more on the New Library Project Update page or contact Jennifer Way, Library Director at (608) 835-2322 with any questions or feedback.

June 2022 - Project Status, Cost Estimate & Value Engineering

Design for the new library is in progress with a goal of starting construction in late fall 2022. 

As part of due diligence, a professional cost estimator was hired to provide construction cost estimates at key milestones during the new library design process - something not typically done for hard bid municipal projects. This proactive step was included in the project initially to provide our professional design team early information on costs to keep the project design and associated costs aligned as closely as possible with available funding. With the extraordinary circumstances of the current construction market pricing, we found this step to be even more critical in allowing our design team the flexibility to address budget concerns at the design stage instead of after the project is bid and it is too late to adjust. 

The first cost estimate was just completed in May and reflects the recent dramatic increases in construction costs. After clarifying some scope items with the estimator and design team, the estimate was approximately 30% higher than the anticipated construction budget due to the extraordinary increase in the market related to both the supply chain and labor shortages which are affecting all current construction projects. To mitigate these higher costs, the consultant team has identified value engineering opportunities informed by the cost estimate. Value engineering is a commonly used tool which involves systematic, organized analysis of providing necessary functions of the design for the best value. This often includes the substitution of materials or methods with less expensive alternatives, without sacrificing functionality, and aims to seek the best possible value for the lowest cost. 

Due to the magnitude of recent construction cost increases, taking these steps still left a significant gap between the estimated construction costs and available funding. To help address the remaining distance, the size of the recently planned building will be reduced by about 15%.

Additional value engineering opportunities were identified and discussed with the Village Board at the June 6th meeting. The Village Board identified sustainable features as a high priority and requested that geothermal and solar remain included in the project. 

• Read the memo provided for the Village Board (See pg. 14-16)
• Watch the Village Board meeting on YouTube (starting at 13:00)

We are in the process of incorporating the value engineering adjustments into our project plans and hope to have floor plans and renderings to share with the community soon.

A second cost estimate will be completed at the end of the design development phase, when more specific drawing details will be available and the value engineering design changes have been implemented to help expected project costs align with available funding.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Jennifer Way, Library Director at (608) 835-2322.

February 2022 - New Site Selected

On Monday, February 7, the Village and Library Boards met together to discuss the location for the new library. The information requested by the Village Board at the previous December joint meeting was presented. The Village Board took the following action:

• Voted to approve the Alpine Parkway property owned by the Village for the site of the new Oregon Public Library.
• Voted to direct Village staff to provide updated language for the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) agreement between the Village Board and Library Board for the project that updates the agreement to reflect:
  • Select recommendations from the Oregon Nature Alliance's Ecological Assessment and Restoration Recommendations for the property. (This informational report was as presented to the Village Board by the Oregon Nature Alliance in January). 
  • Officially update the MOU agreement to reflect the selected location at the Alpine Parkway property.

These decisions will allow the next steps necessary to continue moving the new library project forward toward building a new library. The next steps will be 1) having the Village Board formally amend the Memorandum of Understanding agreement (once the requested language is drafted) and 2) obtain Village Board approval of a contract to complete the architectural/engineering services for the new library project.

Read more below or contact Jennifer Way, Library Director at (608) 835-2322 with any questions or concerns.

February 2022

On Monday, February 7 at 5 PM, the Village and Library Boards will again meet together to discuss the location for the new library. The information requested by the Village Board at the previous December joint meeting will be presented including the following:

• Preliminary site layouts (block diagrams) and site-specific cost estimates for the following two potential new library sites including: 
  • Former School Site (Alpine Parkway across from the Food Pantry)
  • Current Library block on Brook St. (including library/senior center/post office property)
• Geotechnical report for soil borings completed at the Alpine Parkway site. (Soil borings were already available for the Brook St. property.)

The Library Board reviewed this information during a meeting on 1/26. The Library Board voted to recommend to the Village Board that the Alpine Parkway property be selected as the site for the new library location. The recording created by OCA Media can be viewed on YouTube. 

The 2/07 Village Board meeting agenda and informational packet are here: agenda (PDF) & packet (PDF). Download a brief summary (PDF). Once a site is selected, the conceptual design will be revisited and updated to fit the selected site.

Read more on the New Library Site Update page or contact Jennifer Way, Library Director at (608) 835-2322 with any questions or concerns.

December 2021

On December 6, the Village and Library Boards met together to discuss the new library location including listening session feedback, possible locations, and next steps. The Village Board took the following action:

• Voted to remove the 249 N. Main St. property from consideration for the new library.
• Asked the library to focus on additional information on two potential sites including preliminary site layouts and site-specific cost estimates for the following:
  • Former School Site (Alpine Parkway across from the Food Pantry)
  • Current Library block on Brook St. (including library/senior center/post office property)
• Requested soil borings be completed at the former school site. (Soil borings are already available for the Brook St. property.)
• A joint meeting will be scheduled for a future date to discuss this additional information.

Read more about the new library site selection below or contact Jennifer Way, Library Director at (608) 835-2322 with any questions or concerns.

November 2021

The library hosted a series of three listening sessions to share information and listen to our community. You can view the slideshow (PDF) or watch the recorded listening sessions on YouTube. A special thanks to OCA Media who recorded the listening sessions.

Listening session recordings are available on OCA Media's YouTube channel:

• Virtual Listening Session: Tuesday, November 9
• Information and Listening Session: Wednesday, November 3 and Saturday, November 13

September 2021

On Monday, September 20, the Library Board met with the Village Board to present the impacts to the budget and to the vision of the new library project if the new library is built on Main Street on the downtown lot. Based on that conversation, the Library Board and Village Board will be working together to explore alternative locations for the new library to be built. This will include, but not be limited to, exploration of property owned by the Village on the corner of Alpine Parkway and County Hwy CC (across from the Oregon Food Pantry). 

The decision to now take a pause from design and thoughtfully discuss alternative site options was not taken lightly. We have been dreaming of a new downtown library since the Village designated the Main St. site for a new library in 2017, following recommendations by planning consultants.

However, just as the final design was about to begin, the realities of the growing limitations due to the site’s soil conditions, grading, stormwater needs, size, and layout became increasingly concerning to both the project budget and the vision. While some challenges were anticipated, it was only through the civil engineering work that sufficient information became available to fully understand the cumulative impacts of these challenges. 

The question has been asked, “Why didn’t anyone know this before?” I’d like to take a moment to explain some background on the project. As the two boards started the process of building the library, a Memorandum of Understanding (or MOU) was entered into between the Village and Library Boards. This provided a very detailed process that had to be followed. 

First, a fundraising feasibility study was conducted and then a fundraising goal was determined. The next step was for the library to complete conceptual design in order to help with fundraising. The conceptual designs allowed us to do visioning sessions with the community and staff, put together initial space requirements, create renderings of what the building might look like, as well as locate it on a site plan. By nature, concept plans show a vision, but very little detail. No engineering or design documents were created at this step of the process.

Architectural work was then paused to allow for fundraising, which was extended due to the pandemic. Once there was sufficient funding to cover the expected project costs, the Library Board was able to take the next step: Officially hiring an engineer and architect to do the design work needed to understand the site grades, soil conditions, and storm water management. This step of the process just started in mid-August 2021 with a final design contract forthcoming. 

Once the design professionals were able to assess the site and put costs to this specific site, the findings were presented to the Library Board on September 8th. We felt it was important to pause any further work and have a candid discussion with the Village Board about the additional costs associated with the Main St. site and long term goals of the library project. We knew there were options available now that weren’t available four years ago with the Main Street site was formally selected as the site for the new library. This brought us to the discussion we had with the Village Board and the determination by both boards that exploring other sites would be worthwhile to reach the goal of a library that will last into the future.

With the expertise of the design professionals, we will be able to look at other sites with the same critical lens we’ve been able to review our current site with. We will engage with the community to make sure the site that is chosen is treated respectfully and that the visions that the community shared three years ago, and the visions that will be shared as we listen to new information, are joined to create a sustainable library for generations to come.

Please feel free to reach out to me, Jennifer Endres Way, Library Director at (608) 835-2322 or jway [at] oregonlibrary.org or submit a feedback form if you have any questions or concerns. I am happy to discuss this more with you. 

Sincerely,

Jennifer Endres Way, Library Director &

Jenny Nelson, Library Board President